The beautiful site of Cheesewring Farm near Liskeard, Cornwall welcomed the RCC for our ‘Carry On Camping’ themed five day holiday rally. The rally fees were very reasonable; just a pound… per person… per night. We had such a good time, that even the Mother In Law cracked a smile and I’m pleased to report that Barbara Windsor kept all of her clothes on. There was lots to see and do in the area, even within the immediate locality of the campsite. The area was especially renowned for its selection of beautiful birds - there were even some of the feathered variety! Ooh Matron! *insert your best Sid James cackle here*

Some members took advantage of the extended rally dates and arrived on the Thursday, but everyone had arrived by Friday evening. Friendly site owner John provided us with a fire pit and we spent the first evening making new friends and toasting marshmallows.

We were also honoured to welcome Bryony Symes from Practical Caravan magazine for the weekend. Tasked with writing a travel report of what to see and do in Cornwall, she soon got distracted admiring our various assortments of vintage tat and managed to get a good look at everyone’s caravan. The official Practical Caravan photographer came along on Saturday morning and they managed to get about 14 “Me and My Caravan” stories, which will appear in the Practical Caravan magazine over the coming months.

After positively having the wind blown into our sails by climbing the local ‘Sharptor’ and enjoying a view stretching to the coast, those of us who still had some energy left ventured up to the marquee to take part in our organised candle making workshop, kindly set up and run by Paul and Jackie Longhurst. With great holiday souvenirs created, I promptly dashed off to the shop to buy the two trolleys of food that would form the basis of our ‘Tupperware Party’ in the evening.

I firstly must express my gratitude to all the members who came to help prepare the hall and the food for the evening. Between us, we cooked up a feast. We laid on a Chicken Korma Curry and Pasta Bolognese with a large cold buffet to accompany. Testament to the cooking was the fact that not a scrap of the hot food was left by the end of the evening! We also screened old caravan related movies throughout the meal and followed with a big screening of ‘Carry On Behind’. Everyone remarked on how much they enjoyed the evening and members enjoyed showing off their vintage dinner ware! Thank you to everyone who stayed up late to help clean up.

Sunday morning came and there was no rest just yet! Having waived off a few folks who had to get home ready for work/school on Monday, some of us enjoyed a guided tour of the Cheesewring, which was home to a disused granite quarry. It had closed down in the 1920’s but many interesting relics remained. Some members ventured to a nearby Antiques Fair. Just after mid-day, we announced that we would start the communal barbecue. If there is ever anywhere in the world experiencing a serious drought, just send in a British person with good intentions of lighting a barbecue and the rain will come! In our case, the heavens opened, but not to worry, Stephen Hembry came prepared with his barbecue tongues and wetsuit! He raised a smile and stopped the rain from dampening our spirits *insert your best Sid James cackle again here*.

Another evening around the fire followed, the rain clearing to reveal a perfect starry night. The view from the campsite was just spectacular, almost too grand to take in. The long drive there was certainly worth it!

Monday morning seemed to arrive too quickly and members began to depart, all firmly in good spirits after a very enjoyable weekend. Practical Caravan’s Bryony Symes remarked how she’d had a fantastic time at her first ever caravan rally - I hope that the RCC set the bar high for her! It’s very satisfying for us at the end of the rally to see how everyone had arrived as members and left as good friends. We can’t wait to start arranging the next themed holiday rally for next summer!